Mass Effect: Ranking Every Main Squad Member In The Original Trilogy
13. Ashley Williams
She may be more interesting than Kaidan, but only just. Ashley was also an Alliance marine who joined the Normandy in the first game. Her trajectory mirrors Kaidan's, if she survives she went on to be at odds with Shepard's Cerberus connections in Mass Effect 2 before becoming a Spectre and re-joining the Normandy in Mass Effect 3.
Ashley is a more problematic character than Kaidan which instantly gives her more room to progress and change than it does him. Ashley was an (almost) proud racist of non-human species and the player's main insight into the kind of xenophobic attitudes certain members of the Systems Alliance possess.
If she survives Virmire, her prejudices begin to shift and she grows and becomes a more likable member of the team. Like Kaidan, the reason she places so highly on this list is her three games of history that builds up and allows the player to get to know her.